Make a Wish (and other organizations!) - Wish Trippers...UNITE!! Volume 2!

[maroo]

This is still a work in progress...

Top 20 Hints from Past Wish Families - Pass them on to FUTURE Wish Families!

* Water is free at any counter service restaurant at Disney.

* The Epcot VIP Lounges are only open Monday - Friday. (And the GM Lounge is currently closed (as of June 1, 2009) The Magic Kingdom Wish Lounge closes at 7:00 PM some nights.

* Make a list of must do attractions and characters to see. Disney can be overwhelming and it is easy to forget.

* Take lots of pictures with the photopass photographers. Even take multiples pictures at the same place. Many of these pictures won't come out, so the more you take, the more likely you will have a perfect family picture to remember your trip! For more info on Photopass, clickHERE. Or click here DISboards Hints re: Photopass!.

* Don't wait in line for any character. Just make sure the CM (Cast Member) sees your GKTW button.

* If you are using a stroller for your special needs child, go by Guest Services and get a tag so you can use the stroller as a wheelchair and not have to leave it at the entrance of all of the rides and buildings.

* Make time to PLAY with your family at the parks. These can be some of the best memories of the whole trip.

* Go with the flow. Magical moments will happen that may take you off any plans you have. Enjoy the trip. Soak up the wonderful moments. Take time to breathe and enjoy your family time. (That is a lot of tips in one!!!)

* Make sure your GKTW button is easily seen on your child's clothes. Wear it on a solid shirt or find some other way to make it clearly visible.

* There is no way to "do it all" on a Wish Trip! No one knows your family as well as you do - plan your schedule, parks, attractions to see, characters, meals, etc based on what you know your family will enjoy.

* Create a "MUST DO" list for each person going on the trip. Make sure each person is able to do their #1 MUST DO item, if possible. You can schedule everything else around that.

* Parking - Most CM's will direct you to a closer parking area if you show them the button and ask them where you should park with the button. It is sometimes handicapped parking (even without a placard) or it could be Diamond Parking of some kind. One wish family has indicated that if you follow the BLUE line, you will end up in the right place. But I have not tested this theory.

More to come...

 

[thatkid]

thanks for the help!
I've decided on the 7 day disney cruise instead of the cruise & disney.
It would probably be too much to go to disney, me and my brothers are pretty relaxed haha. I've started a what to bring list, as well as a list of characters i want pictures with. Im 17 and all i care about is pictures with characters

 

[jessica52877]

Well, I am 31 and if I had my way all I would do is see the characters for pictures! But I have a 6 yr old son that doesn't care for them anymore. He was tired of them by the time he turned 3. My husband is the same way. They are all about thrill rides.

 

[mlbarbian]

Ok, so we met with our volunteers tonight. A couple things I have questions about, and please know that I am not trying to be ungrateful in any way. We are so blessed to have this experience, I am just concerned about a couple of the details.
Our flight back home is scheduled to leave at 8 am, so we will be picked up at 6 am. Has anyone ever had luck changing their return time? My kids will be awful if we leave that early.
They were going to schedule a character meal for us at Chef Mickey, but there was no info in the packet, so they either forgot to schedule it or forgot to put the info in. If they didn't schedule it yet, what are the chances of getting it scheduled at this point?
They gave us a Make-A-Wish t-shirt for Luke (only) and told us he had to wear it to every Make-A-Wish event, which pretty much means everyday because it includes the parks. They only gave us one and said we may have to wash it out every night. Is this really true?

Thank you,
Michelle

 

[queengonzo]

Ok, so we met with our volunteers tonight. A couple things I have questions about, and please know that I am not trying to be ungrateful in any way. We are so blessed to have this experience, I am just concerned about a couple of the details.
Our flight back home is scheduled to leave at 8 am, so we will be picked up at 6 am. Has anyone ever had luck changing their return time? My kids will be awful if we leave that early.
They were going to schedule a character meal for us at Chef Mickey, but there was no info in the packet, so they either forgot to schedule it or forgot to put the info in. If they didn't schedule it yet, what are the chances of getting it scheduled at this point?
They gave us a Make-A-Wish t-shirt for Luke (only) and told us he had to wear it to every Make-A-Wish event, which pretty much means everyday because it includes the parks. They only gave us one and said we may have to wash it out every night. Is this really true?

Thank you,
Michelle

hi michelle!!!!!

well, i was one of the ones that was able to get an EARLIER flight when we left to go OVER there....they had us leaving at 1200 from here and arriving after 7pm over there.....it was tooo late for my little guy so we were able to get it change to leave at 7am!! now on the way back it was fine....i am pretty sure if there are any available seats, they will be able to do it!! there seems to be a LOT of people leaving florida for some reason!! GOOD LUCK and it NEVER hurts to ask!! we did and they were able to do it!!

as for the shirt, well, they did only give us ONE for him and they just told us to wear it on the day we LEFT for over there and we wore it when we got back too....they didn't say to wear it everyday!!! i think that would be WAY hard!! now, did they give you the pins??? we wore those everyday....

take care and GOD BLESS...

 

[mlbarbian]

hi michelle!!!!!

well, i was one of the ones that was able to get an EARLIER flight when we left to go OVER there....they had us leaving at 1200 from here and arriving after 7pm over there.....it was tooo late for my little guy so we were able to get it change to leave at 7am!! now on the way back it was fine....i am pretty sure if there are any available seats, they will be able to do it!! there seems to be a LOT of people leaving florida for some reason!! GOOD LUCK and it NEVER hurts to ask!! we did and they were able to do it!!

as for the shirt, well, they did only give us ONE for him and they just told us to wear it on the day we LEFT for over there and we wore it when we got back too....they didn't say to wear it everyday!!! i think that would be WAY hard!! now, did they give you the pins??? we wore those everyday....

take care and GOD BLESS...

I am going to call the office tomorrow and see if there is anything they can do. They did give us the pins, so I think we will just plan on wearing those everyday.

Thank you

 

[LindaBabe]

I don't think you "have" to have Luke wear the shirt ever day - but I definitely would on the plane . He will have his GKTW button and make a wish pins to ID him as the "wish" kid in the theme parks.

 

[ndloewen]

The ONE souvenir that I really wanted was a Disney World snow globe. This is the one thing we collect. Every Dec. 26th, we go out and buy one to symbolize the previous year. So, of course, for this year, it had to be WDW, right? Wrong. They don't sell snow globes, except for some small ornaments. Too hard for people to get home, they explained to me.

So I was a little bummed. Then, a couple of days after we got back, I went online to the Give Kids the World store to get a couple of tshirts for Tom and me. Oooh, and then I had to get another GKTW Candyland to put back (since they're playing with the one we received, I have a feeling that pieces will be lost at some point.) And there it was ... a Give Kids the World snowglobe!

It was a little expensive, but worth it. (And I had a little money left from what I budgeted for our trip.) I got the box today and this snowglobe is huge and beautiful. Looks just like the Village! Here it is, in the store. The picture makes it look small, but it's not -- it's probably the largest I have, and we collect full-size ones.

By the way, if you're a family that has been to GKTW and you want to place an order, PM for a free shipping code. I'm sorry I can't offer to everyone, I think it's just for the GKTW families.

I got it too, and was shocked at how BIG it is! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!! It's really the perfect souvenier from GKTW. I'd recommend it for all wish families. I got the free shipping too.

 

[Corrine 1973]

Just want to share some good news!

Ever since Liam was dx in December I knew that I would have to get the other two tested just to be safe. We know what mutation I gave him so we had Mia's blood drawn to check for that mutation. If it came back clean we know that there was only a possibility of her being a carrier and if it came back with the mutation she would be given the sweat test.

Three weeks ago friday the took the blood (not at CF clinic but at a acute center I chose because it was close to the house). I kept tring to find out the results but no one could find. Somehow it disappeared.

Finally the called me yesterday. Mia does not have the mutation that I carry. That means there is no possibility that she has CF.

She also hasn't had any breathing problems for almost 3 months. Hopefully she has grown out of it.

Now it's Aidan't turn.

 

[chcmama]

Just want to share some good news!

Ever since Liam was dx in December I knew that I would have to get the other two tested just to be safe. We know what mutation I gave him so we had Mia's blood drawn to check for that mutation. If it came back clean we know that there was only a possibility of her being a carrier and if it came back with the mutation she would be given the sweat test.

Three weeks ago friday the took the blood (not at CF clinic but at a acute center I chose because it was close to the house). I kept tring to find out the results but no one could find. Somehow it disappeared.

Finally the called me yesterday. Mia does not have the mutation that I carry. That means there is no possibility that she has CF.

She also hasn't had any breathing problems for almost 3 months. Hopefully she has grown out of it.

Now it's Aidan't turn.

That is great news!!!


I'm coming on here asking for some prayers. My dd has been in the hospital for 1 1/2 weeks and we are supposed to leave on her MAW cruise on the 16th. She has her send off party on the 12th and her bday is the 13th. Her sats are low and she has been on O2 and IV antibiotics. She feels fine and we just have to get her off the O2 in order to go home. It has been taking longer this time than it ever has before and has been very frustrating. Esp. with her trip coming up, it has made it more stressful for me, and she is just missing that much more school. I know we can reschedule if we have to, we just really don't want to. The dr. seems to think it shouldn't be a problem to be home by the 12th, but she does have to be off O2.
Thanks in advance.

 

[queengonzo]

Just want to share some good news!

Ever since Liam was dx in December I knew that I would have to get the other two tested just to be safe. We know what mutation I gave him so we had Mia's blood drawn to check for that mutation. If it came back clean we know that there was only a possibility of her being a carrier and if it came back with the mutation she would be given the sweat test.

Three weeks ago friday the took the blood (not at CF clinic but at a acute center I chose because it was close to the house). I kept tring to find out the results but no one could find. Somehow it disappeared.

Finally the called me yesterday. Mia does not have the mutation that I carry. That means there is no possibility that she has CF.

She also hasn't had any breathing problems for almost 3 months. Hopefully she has grown out of it.

Now it's Aidan't turn.

YAYAYAYAYA!!! soooo happy to hear that!! GREAT NEWS!!!

That is great news!!!


I'm coming on here asking for some prayers. My dd has been in the hospital for 1 1/2 weeks and we are supposed to leave on her MAW cruise on the 16th. She has her send off party on the 12th and her bday is the 13th. Her sats are low and she has been on O2 and IV antibiotics. She feels fine and we just have to get her off the O2 in order to go home. It has been taking longer this time than it ever has before and has been very frustrating. Esp. with her trip coming up, it has made it more stressful for me, and she is just missing that much more school. I know we can reschedule if we have to, we just really don't want to. The dr. seems to think it shouldn't be a problem to be home by the 12th, but she does have to be off O2.
Thanks in advance.

I am so sorry to hear that!!! i hope that she gets off that O2 and there is NO DELAY on her getting her WISH!!! GOD BLESS....

 

[thatkid]

more questions...

is there an age limit for the wish kids that stay at GKTW? i really want to stay there, i'll be 18 at the time of my wish though...
can i stay there for just 3 dayys if i do the land/sea cruise?
is there any chance that my older brother will be payed for? he was 18 at the time of my referral and he still lives with us, etc. he really wants to go. He's 19 now, do they make exceptions?
Has anyone else done the disney cruise, and do the wish kids get "special" attention there, too? like is there the MAW staff on the cruise too? could they get me like, character meets and stuff?
I have actually been worrying about this stuff, a lot.
these aren't all of my questions, i hope im asking in the right place, though.
thanks!

 

[Corrine 1973]

I'm coming on here asking for some prayers. My dd has been in the hospital for 1 1/2 weeks and we are supposed to leave on her MAW cruise on the 16th. She has her send off party on the 12th and her bday is the 13th. Her sats are low and she has been on O2 and IV antibiotics. She feels fine and we just have to get her off the O2 in order to go home. It has been taking longer this time than it ever has before and has been very frustrating. Esp. with her trip coming up, it has made it more stressful for me, and she is just missing that much more school. I know we can reschedule if we have to, we just really don't want to. The dr. seems to think it shouldn't be a problem to be home by the 12th, but she does have to be off O2.
Thanks in advance.

Your daughter and family are definatly in my prayers to be off the O2 in the next couple of days!!!

 

[keetmommy]

That is great news!!!


I'm coming on here asking for some prayers. My dd has been in the hospital for 1 1/2 weeks and we are supposed to leave on her MAW cruise on the 16th. She has her send off party on the 12th and her bday is the 13th. Her sats are low and she has been on O2 and IV antibiotics. She feels fine and we just have to get her off the O2 in order to go home. It has been taking longer this time than it ever has before and has been very frustrating. Esp. with her trip coming up, it has made it more stressful for me, and she is just missing that much more school. I know we can reschedule if we have to, we just really don't want to. The dr. seems to think it shouldn't be a problem to be home by the 12th, but she does have to be off O2.
Thanks in advance.

Hope she get off the O2 soon...

 

[maroo]

That is great news!!!


I'm coming on here asking for some prayers. My dd has been in the hospital for 1 1/2 weeks and we are supposed to leave on her MAW cruise on the 16th. She has her send off party on the 12th and her bday is the 13th. Her sats are low and she has been on O2 and IV antibiotics. She feels fine and we just have to get her off the O2 in order to go home. It has been taking longer this time than it ever has before and has been very frustrating. Esp. with her trip coming up, it has made it more stressful for me, and she is just missing that much more school. I know we can reschedule if we have to, we just really don't want to. The dr. seems to think it shouldn't be a problem to be home by the 12th, but she does have to be off O2.
Thanks in advance.

Definitely praying for you guys!!!

more questions...

is there an age limit for the wish kids that stay at GKTW? i really want to stay there, i'll be 18 at the time of my wish though...
can i stay there for just 3 dayys if i do the land/sea cruise?
is there any chance that my older brother will be payed for? he was 18 at the time of my referral and he still lives with us, etc. he really wants to go. He's 19 now, do they make exceptions?
Has anyone else done the disney cruise, and do the wish kids get "special" attention there, too? like is there the MAW staff on the cruise too? could they get me like, character meets and stuff?
I have actually been worrying about this stuff, a lot.
these aren't all of my questions, i hope im asking in the right place, though.
thanks!

I got your PM and I will post the link to your pre-trippie as soon as I finish typing this.

Honestly, I have only seen 3 and 4 night cruises for Wish Kids. From the reports that I have seen on the cruise - it seems like the child gets a Make a Wish button and I am sure that attracts some attention for the child on the cruise from characters and CM's, but I don't think it is quite like the theme parks. At the theme parks you hop lines, etc, and I am not sure there are many lines on the cruise to hop. I really don't know much about the cruise for Disney (I have only done Royal Carribean).

However, I am sure that if you do a Cruise that you won't be able to stay at GKTW. GKTW is just the resort for the kids (teen in your case) that do the theme parks as the wish. They even were not offering GKTW for the dolphin swim wish at Discovery Cove.

I don't think the cruise has MAW staff...but Disney World doesn't either. Unless you count GKTW staff and they are actually not affiliated with MAW. Any wish organization can send children/teens to GKTW.

Each MAW chapter is different on the exceptions for older siblings. It will help that he lives with you, though, I would guess.

You are definitely asking your questions in the right place!

 

[keetmommy]

Ok so I said I wasn't going to Plan...but what I do want to plan is to be able to see the fire works....so what days/parks can I see them during the week of June 15-20 (we leave on Sunday) and I know there are things we don't want to miss at GTKW so we need to be there at night too.

Also where do I buy autograph books...we didn't do that last time but think I should this time.

I got my Passporter's book out today just to try to plan...starting to get excited..we just need to get through the MRI on MOnday and then I will plan..

 

[chcmama]

thanks for the help!
I've decided on the 7 day disney cruise instead of the cruise & disney.
It would probably be too much to go to disney, me and my brothers are pretty relaxed haha. I've started a what to bring list, as well as a list of characters i want pictures with. Im 17 and all i care about is pictures with characters

My daughter also wanted a Disney cruise, but our chapter was not able to grant Disney cruises. She decided on a Royal Carribean cruise instead. I have read from some other people that their chapter would grant Disney cruises, but only the 3 or 4 day ones. I hope your chapter can grant you the 7 day one, but in case they can't you might want to have a backup plan.

 

[chcmama]

Thanks for all your prayers, I have hopes that she will get off the O2 today. If she does we may get t go home tomorrow.

 

[maroo]

Ok so I said I wasn't going to Plan...but what I do want to plan is to be able to see the fire works....so what days/parks can I see them during the week of June 15-20 (we leave on Sunday) and I know there are things we don't want to miss at GTKW so we need to be there at night too.

Also where do I buy autograph books...we didn't do that last time but think I should this time.

I got my Passporter's book out today just to try to plan...starting to get excited..we just need to get through the MRI on MOnday and then I will plan..

Uh...I would hold off on autograph books.

For June 15 - 20, Wishes is at 10:00 each night! And the light parade is at 9:00 each of those nights. That is pretty late...but hopefully you can fit it in pretty easily! You can easily park hop from any park to the MK that night...but prepare for lots of crowds for those activities.


The main night activities at GKTW (as they are right now...these can and DO change!)...you will get a list of the activities when you check into GKTW.

Sunday: Candyland Party (at the totally cool playground!)
Thursday: Christmas - Not to be missed!
Fri: Pirate and Princesses Party
Sat: Mayor Claytons Birthday Party

There are other night activities and morning activities...but these are the main four that I have seen documented in TR's...

 

[mlbarbian]

Which park are Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater in?

Michelle